Written By Lisa Murimi
Nelson Amenya, the whistleblower behind the explosive JKIA-Adani scandal, has returned to the spotlight this time with serious allegations about a potential secret sale of the Kipini Conservancy, a vital ecological haven in Kenya’s Tana Delta.
In a detailed exposé shared on social media Thursday evening, Amenya claimed that one of the conservancy’s owners has been quietly negotiating a multi-billion shilling sale of the land to a government entity.
He alleges that the proposed deal — initially valued at Ksh64 billion — stalled only after a family member filed a legal injunction to block the transaction.
“One member of the family, Omar Sherman, also known as Dr. Farouk Sherman, has allegedly attempted to sell the conservancy multiple times to the highest bidder. He is accused of fraudulently soliciting donor funds from the EU and the Kenya Tourism Board under false pretenses, setting up shell projects like Kipini Lodge, and misrepresenting conservation efforts with the aid of his wife, Sari Sherman, a UNEP employee.”
“The most alarming claim? That he brokered a deal to forcibly sell Kipini to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) for an estimated $500 million, triggering multiple military visits in 2021. In defense of the land, the family patriarch, Awadh Swaleh Nguru, along with several conservation organizations, filed a case in the Environment and Land Court to block the acquisition. Read the case here.”
Kipini Conservancy spans the fragile coastal frontier between Tana River and Lamu counties. Once a cattle ranch, the land was abandoned due to a tsetse fly infestation and later converted into a wildlife sanctuary.
Today, it supports endangered species such as elephants, lions, and nesting turtles.
Amenya warns the sale is not just a land issue — it’s a conservation emergency.
“Instead of becoming a beacon for conservation, Kipini has become a cautionary tale of exploitation and deceit,” he wrote.
He further claimed the push to sell is linked to speculative oil and gas exploration in the area.
An examination of Lamu County’s spatial development plan confirms Kipini is designated for wildlife conservation and eco-tourism, not extractive industry or private sale.
“Kipini Conservancy is designated for wildlife conservation and tourism in the Lamu County Spatial Plan. Yet, its future is being quietly bartered away,” Amenya stated.
“Kipini Conservancy is clearly designated for wildlife conservation and tourism in the Lamu County Spatial Plan. Yet, its future is being quietly bartered away. This is more than a land dispute. It is a battle for one of Kenya’s last truly wild coastal frontiers. If we lose Kipini, we lose an irreplaceable link in East Africa’s ecological and cultural heritage.”
“This is more than a land dispute. It is a battle for one of Kenya’s last truly wild coastal frontiers. If we lose Kipini, we lose an irreplaceable link in East Africa’s ecological and cultural heritage,” he added.
He has called on Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano and Chief Justice Martha Koome to step in.
